"Can we bring Trump here?" he asked the festival crowd that responded with a loud "No".

"I think he needs help. This is going to be in the press, and it will be horrible. But I like that you're all a part of it," he said. "When was the last time an actor assassinated a president?"

Depp was referring to the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln by actor John Wilkes Booth in 1865.

"I want to clarify. I'm not an actor," he immediately joked. "I lie for a living."

While the crowd at the festival laughed at his comments, back in the US, the White House was not pleased with the idea of basing jokes on the killing of a president and released a statement on the same.

"President Trump has condemned violence in all forms, and it's sad that others like Johnny Depp have not followed his lead," deputy White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told CNN.

"I hope that some of Mr Depp's colleagues will speak out against this type of rhetoric as strongly as they would if his comments were directed to a Democrat elected official."

The dad-of-two also recognised the gravity of his comments, and issued a public apology via People magazine.

He said: "I apologize for the bad joke I attempted last night in poor taste about President Trump," he said. "It did not come out as intended, and I intended no malice. I was only trying to amuse, not to harm anyone."